What is CAPM good for? Hi Josh, I am a college student majoring Project Management. Although I have been involved with a few projects over my life, I have never held any leadership positions. This means that I don’t have any experience in project management. This article was fantastic. I am able to identify with many of the PM examples. I am changing careers and am also a graduate student with no prior experience. I read your article and followed it with a navigation to the PMI site. I found CAPM. Although you don’t recommend pursuing certifications right away, I was curious about how new entrants can stand out from the rest in these economic times. I am a Nov graduate with a double major in Project Management and Organizational Management. I have the chance to also get a LSS/GB before I graduate and I plan on doing so. To make up for my lack of experience, I am considering CAPM. What would you recommend I do to move forward? Ryan, sincerely, Ryan. Thank you so much for your great email Ryan! ?I’ll answer your questions now, especially those I’ve highlighted from your email to discuss. Before I get to those points, let me stress something that I always emphasize when coaching people for their careers. Target Specific Organizations These questions about how you can help your career move forward require context. My teaching philosophy is to start by:
You may be surprised to learn that the Green Belt and CAPM are not only not well-known, but also looked down upon by companies you would love to work for. ? It happens. You can discover these things before you spend your time on these activities. Distinguishing?Yourself With The CAPM In my experience, the CAPM does little to?distinguish?you from other candidates. But there are good reasons to get it.
- A certification shows initiative and self-motivation.
- Some organizations appreciate the CAPM because they identify strongly with the PMI standard/framework, and have it integrated into their processes. So if you have the CAPM you can speak the same language.
- There are many great things you will learn, not least how to view project management as a formal discipline.
- If you are planning to take the PMP later on, it is a good idea to get involved in “PMI-think”.
Cons
- The CAPM is generally not well-recognized.
- My humble opinion is that a ‘piece’ of paper is not worth much.
- If you have to choose between volunteering to gain experience or spending money on the CAPM I would prefer that you gain experience.
Tip: Do you want to pursue the CAPM? The one I recommend and used will serve dual-duty, and will prepare you for the CAPM. Six Sigma Green Belt Certification The Six Sigma Green Belt certification, which is more well-known and respected than the CAPM in the USA, is more widely recognized. It can be a good decision depending on the type of organizations you are targeting and the domains you want to work in. All education is great, but it’s important to consider the cost-benefit ratio of other uses of your time and money. I would prefer to see you get experience in managing projects, even if it is in a volunteer capacity. If you can do both, great. If I had to choose between two candidates, A – Degree and CAPM, Green Belt, with no experience managing projects. B – Degree requires a year of experiencing.
